One can only dream of a time when Ruby Bell and James Beaufort will know peace.
So, Maxton Hall Season 2 Episode 6 was the perfect reminder of why this season deserved eight to ten episodes rather than simply six.
Of course, given the bleak nature of this season, who’s to say that we’d be most satisfied? Because Maxton Hall has such a horrendous villain problem, it’s almost too much to bear.
With Friends Like Cyril, Who Needs Enemies?
Cyril is his own worst enemy, which is downright laughable, but must he be an enemy to the Beauforts as well?
Was there anything quite as aggravating as watching Cyril behave like a total cad out on the field during that game? He’s the reason he didn’t get that scholarship: he was so busy being angry at James and so insistent on standing out as the hero that he fumbled his opportunity.
But what does he do, my dear, exhausted Maxton Hall Fanatics? He fixed his lips to blame all of this on Ruby Bell.
Because, naturally, it’s the poor, ambitious, beautiful young woman’s fault and nobody else’s. Ruby’s only offense in this narrative is having the audacity to love James and have him love her in return. Gasp! The horror!
There was maybe some merit, if you squint, to Cyril feeling frustrated that James was too busy or preoccupied and thus neglected their friendship.
But there’s also the little, small matter that JAMES’ MOTHER DIED!
Cyril’s level of self-absorption to the point of aiding Elaine in her bullcrap is so mystifying that all one could do during his lacrosse crashout was tilt their head to the side and quietly mutter, “What the entire hell?”
Cyril and Ruby’s Similar Paths Should Be Compelling
It’s hard to feel much of anything pleasant about James literally extending a hand, with an apology, grace, and an olive branch to Cyril when James showed up for him, at great personal expense to himself and Ruby, too. Cyril still behaved poorly, fumbled his opportunity, and spoke ill of James’ happiness with Ruby.
Similarly, it was hard to feel that sweet affection for the Beauforts, to find solace in their circle of friends, and to actually stay with Cyril, when he’s treated them both horribly behind their backs because he feels entitled to their attention and devotion based on the standards and expectations he set for those dynamics.
Again, did the Beauforts not just lose their mother, or…?
It’s difficult to hear Cyril take such a disparaging approach to Ruby when he, too, knows what it’s like to aspire to earn a scholarship to get where he needs to be in his future.
Shouldn’t Cyril understand and respect someone like Ruby more, not less? For a guy who knows what high stakes and expectations are like, he’s dreadful.
Even though he cares for Lydia and yet played some role in ruining her life, it is pretty unsettling. Part of why Lydia is staying with him now is because of fallout, so pizza and a hug aren’t enough to make up for any of his role in this.
Hell Isn’t Hot Enough for Mortimer
Maxton Hall still has an issue with Mortimer. He’s a villain so very capable of having more depth and layers, but aside from a glimmer here and there, he’s mostly just a morally bankrupt, maniacal, power-hungry man who should die unhappy and alone.
But he probably won’t because he’s rich, and basically, even in Maxton Hall, the wealthy get away with pretty much everything.
It’s mystifying that there are so many aspects of Mortimer’s life that he could be focusing on, but instead, he’s waged the most asinine war of all wars against a teenage girl for having the audacity to hold his son’s attention.
Ruby Bell, this slight young beauty who has done nothing but be good and mind her business, basically has this man frothing at the mouth at every conceivable turn for things of which she has no understanding.
There’s punching down, in unspeakable ways — we’re not new to this, again, Maxton Hall is certainly not shying away from the social status aspects.
But then there’s whatever the hell Mortimer is doing to which his cruetly has no bounds in sight. Maximum destruction is his game, so much so that he calls in favors to ruin Ruby’s life; however, he deems it fit.
It’s pure madness! The extremes to which he goes over a young girl less than half his age should be studied. It’s gotten so absolutely absurd that it’s become difficult even to process anymore. Don’t get me wrong, the actors are all incredible and sell it all, but goodness!
Absolute Power and Wealth Breed INSUFFERABLE People.
Worse yet, it’s the simple fact that people around Mortimer allow this to happen. The expectation is that teenagers are supposed to do more and put up a bigger fight than actual adults, who do his bidding with a shrug and feign helplessness.
And all of this while constantly invoking Cordelia’s memory as if she’d want literally any of what’s happening right now. It’s crazy work, I tell you!
Mortimer’s fixation on Ruby, to the point of wanting not just to ruin her relationship with James but to ruin HER and her chances to succeed, is so surreal in its depravity.
He tramples on any shot that can reasonably be taken to advance in her life and career in any meaningful way. He’s the giant stomping on ants — the worker ants that sustain everything that he’s trying to hold onto in the first place.
Mortimer’s evil when it comes to Ruby and his ability to orchestrate events and manipulate entire systems just to keep her down is the grossly overt behavior that properly radicalizes people.
This season, I’m not even entirely sure I’m watching a love story anymore so much as a dramatic indictment against wealth, privilege, corrupt power, and the “haves.”
Where Poor People Suffer, and Wealthy People Suck — Eat the Rich, and All that Good Stuff
You know, the ones who are always hollearing about “pulling yourself up by your bootstraps” while they snip the straps, slash the boots, and stake the deck in every way imaginable from the comforts of their own wealth.
The finale was so bleak because all and any dashes of hope or happiness were snuffed out, and we were just left quietly seething over the fact that once again, all the poor and working people had to suffer, fall, face repercussions, and terrible fates.
All because they fell victim to a bunch of rich people with their rich people problems and drama, they haven’t properly worked out despite having all the resources and access to do so.
Mortimer forcing Alice Campbell to sacrifice Ruby’s future to save thousands of other kids in similar predicaments was nauseating. And, sure, Alice’s difficult situation was understandable.
She may even have come across as sympathetic because she was basically at Mortimer’s mercy. But she tarnishes her name, branding, and message by continuing to participate in and help uphold a system that actively goes against what she’s fighting for in the first place.
It’s her cowardice that’s despicable. Alice feigns being busy and avoids confronting the repercussions of her actions by either seeing Ruby again or avoiding James. And it’s not a sustainable situation she’s in.
To what ends does she have to keep doing what Mortimer asks? If she gave in to him once, he would have her do it over and over again. She has her funds, but at what cost?
Stop Killing My Vibes (The Real World Sucks Enough)
And did Mortimer’s stipulations somehow prevent Alice from considering other avenues to assist Ruby? Her guilt didn’t drive her to find loopholes?
Was she just perfectly fine kissing Mortimer’s ring at Ruby’s expense, even after all the labor and work Ruby poured into that event for Alice? Because, again, she’s really not much different from him, right? That’s essentially the message we get about all the wealthy people in Maxton Hall’s world.
Similarly, Harold Ellington pulled all of his funds from Beaufort just because his bratty daughter had hurt feelings. These are the people in power who hold all the cards, eh?
Instead of Elaine having to face that she sucks and can’t have every boy she wants, we get all of this.
The exhaustive levels of suckiness with so many of these characters and the lengths to which they go just because they can have reached a point of insufferability that’s unbearable. It kills the season’s better vibes.
We always knew the odds would be against Ruby and James, but we’ve reached new, lower lows of it being bleak. Hell, it’s almost too real. Maxton Hall Season 2, sacrificing the escapism for the harmful, destructive class divide, taking dizzyingly cruel heights, doesn’t work.
How can we still enjoy Ruby and James half as much when the reality of Mortimer arranging Mrs. Bell’s termination and crushing her hard-earned deal to acquire the bakery she worked at is our new reality?
Let Ruby Rest, Damn!
How about the reality of her unemployment and what that means for her as she also financially supports her family, including her disabled husband?
And now we faced the umpteenth obstacle to Ruby and her Oxford dream. No matter how many times she fights back valiantly, with all the positivity a person could muster, there’s always someone shattering her for sport.
Her association with James is half the issue here, and now, she can’t even rest easily in the comfort of his love because, of course, the manipulation that has now resulted in slandering her good name and her suspension.
Mind you, my head is still reeling from the fact that a grown adult teacher having an affair with a student could also result in said student’s expulsion. Whether it’s Ruby or Lydia, Graham is the adult and the predatory one in the situation.
Maxton Hall bends over backward to make this dynamic between Graham and Lydia another star-crossed lovers type of story, but there’s nothing they can do to make it an endearing aspect of the show worth rooting for here. Even my awareness of how it plays out in the books doesn’t change my stance on this.
Sorry, Lydia, Graham Can Sit in Prison, IDC
On top of everything else that Ruby must deal with, they are basically having her pay the repercussions of her threat during the first season by tying her to Graham rather than Lydia. Why? Because, again, the wealthy people always protect one another and scapegoat those less fortunate.
Elaine and Cyril know the truth, but it’s doubtful that it’ll matter since Ruby has to deal with her name being dragged through the mud and her reputation being tarnished in this sex scandal with a teacher. It’s infuriating.
And it exposes the deep-rooted sexism in this, too, that she’d have faced condemnation as much as Graham. It’s a mess.
And it’s another thing that will ruin James and Ruby because the photo they used to blow all of this up was one he took of her with Graham a while back. It’s safe to say that’s the picture Mortimer found in James’ phone and kept in his back pocket as part of his master plan to ruin the teenage girl he hates.
Mortimer and his burn book. He’s no better than a teenage girl himself. No wonder he likes Elaine so much.
Came for Ruby/James Romance, and All I Got was Angst and Rage
It opens up a whole new issue for James and Ruby, as she has to confront the fact that it’s James’ photo that was used to ruin her. It opens up old wounds when they started as enemies, and he intended to destroy her, too, to protect his sister.
And, at this point, Ruby has lost it all — everything. She keeps paying all the prices for loving James, and his price seems so inconsequential in comparison. The mere imbalance in that is enough to strain these two just when it seemed like they were at their strongest again.
As a James and Ruby fan, you naturally want them to find true happiness, and it’s exhausting that the world is so against them.
But as a Ruby fan, for as much as I love James, I’d want her far away from him because of all the ways she has to pay for daring to love a boy in a different social standing than hers.
It’s a frustrating, sad, and bleak end to the season. The darker opening worked well because Cordelia’s death needed to cast a shadow over the season, and it helped greatly in James’ character development.
But the season ending just as bleak? That’s not precisely what many of us signed up for, and I hate signing off the season feeling so downtrodden and heavy.
Caffeine-Fueled Rants and Thoughts
- So, how many favors did Mortimer call in to forge the will? Also, how does he not think that Cordelia leaving EVERYTHING to JUST him doesn’t raise suspicion?
- So, like, Aunt Ophelia was just … there? It feels like they wasted her character this season.
- It’s the fact that everyone lost their entire minds because James (checks notes) talked about his feelings at a charity gala. I’m tired of these fragile men and their fragile egos, and this toxic board.
- My beloved Percy genuinely mourning Cordelia was one of my favorite scenes of the hour. He’s so criminally underused and underrated, and I want the confirmation I need about their relationship.
- Clearly, Mortimer must have known about Lydia’s affair with Graham and stepped in just when it was necessary to cover the family name.
- How has no one else figured out that Lydia is pregnant with twins? To what degree will things explode when that reveal comes to light?
- The Bells singing “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” embodies all that is good and pure about them as a family. I’m glad someone could sing, because I was pissed off.
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